23/09/2026
Thinning a knife... why ?
I've uploaded a couple of videos for context
Quite often when I'm out on site, I get a bundle of knives and some of them may need thinning ... I'll tell you about what thinning a knife actually is, why I do it ,and the benefits of it being thinned.
Try and imagine a knife like an upside-down triangle. The base of the triangle ( spine) might be 2.5 to 3 mm thick and the pointy ( sharp edge ) or end of the triangle is obviously and very, very thin in comparison.
The process of thinning is where I will reduce the sides or middle of the knife from hilt to tip and about the middle, down to just before the primary bevel or edge ... I'm literally making the knife thinner !
Thick knives have a lot of strength but can struggle to cut or separate foods .
They become cumbersome and clumsy and difficult to control in the micro-action of cutting , till eventually you don't like it or don't use it. Waste of money !
A thin knife tends to slice but is not as robust as a thick knife . A thin knife will slice beautifully through meats and vegetables without requiring a lot of effort.
A thick knife which was perfectly okay when it was brand new starts to look and perform like an axe more than a slender knife as with each sharpen, the knife edge gets thicker and thicker, regardless of 17° or 16° per side. It's still a fat edge .
My job is to understand the geometry of knives and a chef's job is to use that knife better than all of us. Professional restaurant chefs are the athletes of food and cuisine preparation and their tools of trade have to be almost an extension of their hands.
Thinning a knife should only be done by experienced sharpeners .
Thinning hugely alters the geometry and the performance of the knife and if you don't know what you're doing, you can very quickly end up destroying a knife. I imagine that will be a very hard conversation to have, as many chefs have had their knives for a long long time.
The actual process of thinning a knife is done very slowly on either a belt system or a wet wheel system and really should be done with an ice trough to delete any chance of heat buildup
As metal is removed the knife becomes reshaped. Its geometry and the way it performs alter and require top-notch attention to detail as you progress through your grit refining process
Imagine taking a rough-sawn piece of timber, refining the surface to meet high and shiny expectations of aesthetics, with a functional profile and not a scratch to be seen !!
A lot of old-school meat processors used to take the shoulders off their knives. These are professional workers who appreciated and knew the value in customising their blades .
When I go to work and there's a bunch of knives, I look to see where my value is .. Mostly I'm called out to sharpen but there is more to sharpening, as you now know, that keeps a knife in service.
I don't know about other sharpeners but I have been most successful in having a minimum of 5 units for personal mobile attendance to your home or office to sharpen... So there needs to be value in it for you as a client.
Working off that,I look at low dollars spent every 3-6 months to maintain and keep 5 - 10 knives in tip top condition is going to make dinner prep so much more easier and exciting !
Sharpening
Reshaping
Tip repair
Bolster reduction
Scratch repairs
This can all be part of a sharpness service for you
Spring is here ... blossoms 🌸 garden trimming and lawns to be done.. but only on the days I'm not chasing fish !
Call or comment or send photos anytime of your knives , any queries or repairs or if you just need some direction..but please.. no photos of big spring fish you've caught on the days that I'm working lol
Paul
SharpAgain
0272051558
www.sharpagain. co.nz
